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The Great Britain Guide

Quarries · South East England

Tout Quarry

Tout Quarry — sculpture park and nature reserve.

Tout Quarry, quarries in South East England

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
45 min–1.5 h
Nearest railway station
Weymouth · 7.0 km

About

Tout Quarry is a quarry in the United Kingdom. Wikidata describes it as: "sculpture park and nature reserve". Coordinates: 50.5531°, -2.4446°.

Photo gallery

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Isle of Portland SSSI

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Tout Quarry, now known as Tout Quarry Sculpture Park and Nature Reserve, is a sculpture park and nature reserve based within a disused quarry on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located within the north-west corner of Tophill. The sculpture park has existed since 1983, while the site also become a nature reserve around 2004. To date, the quarry displays a collection of various carvings and works in Portland stone.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

Tout Quarry was worked commercially during the 18th and 19th centuries. The quarry was last worked in 1982 for a boulder contract when 30,000 tons were excavated for sea defenses. Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust began the sculpture park in 1983, saving the quarry from further mineral extraction with the creation of sculptures, and the park officially opened in that year. Many of the original site-specific sculptures can still be discovered today, although some did not last much longer than a year. In places around the quarry, there are numerous ravines leading to the cliff edge. Tramway lines once ran throughout the quarry, taking stone waste to the cliff edge to be tipped or taking block…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
50.5531, -2.4446
District
Dorset
Parish
Portland
Postcode
DT5 2EN
Parliamentary constituency
South Dorset
Nearest railway station
Weymouth7 km
Official site
learningstone.org

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Tout Quarry?
Tout Quarry is in South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode DT5 2EN), in the parish of Portland.
Is Tout Quarry a protected site?
Yes — Tout Quarry is part of the Isle of Portland SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
How do I get to Tout Quarry?
The nearest railway station is Weymouth, about 7.0 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode DT5 2EN.